PHILADELPHIA -- Its far from a coincidence that the Edmonton Oilers went big with the third pick in the NHL draft. Tyler Ennis Jersey . In taking German centre Leon Draisaitl, the Oilers added some much-needed size and depth at a position of great importance. "Its not a stretch to say were really happy and think that we filled a tremendous need for our hockey club and I think is going to have a real significant impact over time with our team," general manager Craig MacTavish said Friday night. "You combine him with our No. 1 pick last year (Darnell Nurse), and we start to see some size and quite a bit of character continue to come into our dressing room." Beyond 2011 No. 1 pick Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, the Oilers are thin at centre. And in Draisaitl, the highest-drafted German in NHL history, they get a six-foot-one, 208-pound player who has drawn comparisons to Anze Kopitar and Jaromir Jagr. Playing for the WHLs Prince Albert Raiders, Draisaitl had 38 goals and 67 assists in 64 games this past season as he developed his defensive game and faceoff prowess. Hes from Cologne but came to develop in the Canadian junior system and will remain in North America this summer to train. There are still things Draisaitl believes he needs to improve this off-season but the physically mature 18-year-old also thinks hell be ready to play in the NHL in 2014-15. MacTavish cant make such a guarantee. "Obviously we project the team to be much more productive and much deeper than we were this year, and thatll be a significant factor," he said. "We want to make sure that if we do put young kids into our lineup that they have a chance to have success, and thatll be a big factor along with how well he adapts to the NHL game at training camp." Just having a chance to earn a spot at training camp is a nice opportunity for Draisaitl, who understands he wont just be handed a job playing alongside Nugent-Hopkins, Taylor Hall and Jordan Eberle. "Im going to have to do my job and earn my spot if I want to play in that league and on that team," Draisaitl said. "I think theyre moving forward for sure and they made some good trades, (David) Perron, and the guys are getting older and more mature. This is just awesome right now." Draisaitl was thrilled to put on the same orange and blue of Edmonton stars of the past, most of whom had their primes before he was born. "Theyve had so many great players on their team: Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, MacTavish -- all those guys are stars in the league, and wearing the same jersey as they do is unbelievable," he said. MacTavish joked that he owed Draisaitl $100 for dropping his name in that group. More importantly for the GMs current job, he hopes Draisaitl can develop into an important piece of this already young core. Draisaitl fills a specific role, too, as the Oilers seek a variety of talent at forward. "(He) protects the puck and is a real offensive-zone player," MacTavish said. "Weve got a lot of skill, but were in need of somebody down low thats capable of sustaining the play. We have David Perron that fits that bill and now Leon will be a guy that can really protect the puck." If Draisaitl develops as scouts expect, he would slot in as the Oilers No. 2 centre of the future. His size mixed with Halls speed could be a tantalizing combination. "Hes probably the fastest skater in the league and hes an exciting player to watch," Draisaitl said. "It might be a good fit, but you never know." MacTavish would love to spend Saturday adding more depth to the organization, but the Oilers dont have a second- or a third-round pick after trades for Perron and goaltender Ben Scrivens. And he doesnt expect to be able to get into the second. "Well be sitting on our hands, it looks like, through the second or third round," MacTavish said. "Hopefully the scouts can pull a few of those impact players out of the later picks." Jonas Brodin Jersey .L. - Defending womens champion Alberta improved to 3-0 at the Canadian junior curling championships with a 10-3 win over Ontario in Sundays afternoon draw. Marcus Foligno Jersey . -- Jerel Worthy and his Michigan State teammates charged across the field, holding four fingers in the air while celebrating another sweet victory over their biggest rival. http://www.authentichockeyshopwild.com/adidas+eric+staal+wild+jersey . -- D. J. Williams finally has his packing strategy down.PORTO ALEGRE, Brazil -- The Netherlands is on the verge of qualifying for the World Cup knockout rounds after fending off a belligerent Australia 3-2 on Wednesday to follow up its opening 5-1 rout of defending champion Spain. Memphis Depay scored the clincher in the 68th minute, seconds after Australia missed a chance to go ahead again. Arjen Robben and Robin Van Persie, who each scored twice against Spain, added to their tournament tallies before and after Australias goals, which included a stunning volley from Cahill that levelled the score at 1-1 in the 21st. Australia is almost certainly out of contention following consecutive defeats, and Cahill will be missing in its last match against Spain after picking up his second yellow card of the tournament. Van Persie will miss the Netherlands last group match against Chile for the same reason. "They just kept running. They actually scored well. The second half we went to our own system, what were used to," Van Persie said. "But everyone did well. Im really happy with the result." After a quiet start, the game burst into life in the 20th minute when Robben collected the ball near halfway, sped through a gaping hole in the Australian midfield and shot powerfully past the outstretched left foot of Maty Ryan. Another rout seemed in the works, but only for only a matter seconds. Australia equalized with Ryan McGowan sending a long, looping pass from the midfield to Cahill, who volleyed over Jasper Cillessen onto the underside of the bar in one of the best goals of the tournament so far. Australia, the lowest-ranked team in the tournament, kept pressuring Netherlands, with Mark Bresciano and Matthew Spiranovic missing chances that could have given the Socceroos a halftime lead. Just before the interval, Cahill needlesslyy clattered into the back of Bruno Martins Indi and was given a yellow card. Mikael Granlund Jersey. He was also booked in Australias opening 3-1 loss to Chile, meaning the veteran Socceroos star may have played his last World Cup game. Martins Indi was helped off the field, replaced by Depay to start the second half, and later taken to a hospital with a suspected concussion. At the start of the second half, Netherlands changed from a 5-3-2 system that worked so well against Spain to a more traditional Dutch 4-3-3 style to incorporate Depay, but it was Australia which took the surprise lead with a penalty after Daryl Janmaat handled the ball in the area. Mile Jedinak converted from the spot in the 54th to make it 2-1 but Van Persie levelled again four minutes later, collecting the ball in space on the edge of the penalty area and firing into the roof of the net. In the 68th minute, Tommy Oar had a shooting opportunity down on the left hand side of goal but chose to cross to Mathew Leckie, who couldnt beat the keeper. It proved costly on the next attacking play when Depay fired a swerving low shot from around 25 yards that beat the keepers outstretched right hand,. Australia coach Ange Postecoglou said he was "heartbroken" by the loss. "Bitterly disappointing," he said. "Just for the players, they were magnificent. They took it to a world-class team. Full credit to them, but I just feel bitterly disappointed they werent able to get some reward out of it today." Postecoglou said his team had proved some critics wrong with two gallant games. "We came to this World Cup and were playing against three of the best nations in the world," he said. "People were saying we wouldnt score a goal. In both games weve taken it to the opposition." Cheap Canadiens JerseysCheap Predators JerseysCheap Devils JerseysCheap Islanders JerseysCheap Rangers JerseysCheap Senators JerseysCheap Flyers JerseysCheap Penguins JerseysCheap Sharks JerseysCheap Blues JerseysCheap Lightning JerseysCheap Maple Leafs JerseysCheap Canucks JerseysCheap Golden Knights JerseysCheap Capitals JerseysCheap Winnipeg Jets Jerseys ' ' '